Most would agree that an Indian wedding is a once in a lifetime experience, so when a friend invited us to his, it was an easy 'yes'. Here is my list of Dos and Don'ts when traveling halfway around the world.
Do
GO TO THE WEDDING. Book that ticket, book that hotel, figure it out later. When initially invited I was on the fence since it was far away and unfamiliar to me, not to mention expensive and required a lot of time off work.
This was my first trip to Asia and I am so glad to have gone; not only to adventure and explore a new country, but to also support my dear friend getting MARRIED!
Don't
Wait to the last minute to figure out logistics. At least for India, there were a couple of things we needed to complete before traveling which included:
Visiting a travel clinic to make sure we had all required shots and medications
Registering for a tourist visa
Booking a tour/accommodations (which I would highly recommend Srees tours)
Figuring out what we needed to be comfortable on the trip (i.e. toilet paper, bug spray, granola bars)
Do
Embrace all the wedding festivities. This includes dress, dance, food, rituals, and anything else that you may be offered to participate in. Our group had fun learning an Indian dance (which we later would perform on stage in front of the entire wedding party), wearing the traditional Indian dress, and trying all sorts of different food during the multiple events.
Don't
Be afraid to try the food! Especially if you love Indian cuisine like I do. During this trip I made an effort to pick things I've never had before and safe to say, I loved every single thing I had.
We kept a list of our favorites:
fish curry (molee (keral style), malabar)
Mysore bunda (fried dough balls for breakfast)
Makai shorba (corn and garlic soup)
Uttapam (fermented pancake patty with onion, pepper)
Pineapple poolisery (this may have been everyone’s favorite this trip!!)
Meen manga (mango fish curry)
Do
Travel with a group (if you want). I traveled with some friends and personally, I believe it made the trip a lot more fun. As long as you are comfortable spending quite a lot of time together, to have gone on this adventure and now share this collective experience is something uniquely special.
Don't
Discount a 24hr+ layover. We selected a flight plan that included a 24-hour layover in Hong Kong and it ended up being a highlight of the trip. Surprisingly we were able to see a lot during our short time there including Victoria Peak (see the picture of our "view"), the outdoor escalators, and traditional dim sum! I would love to revisit one day and spend some proper time exploring the city.
